I helped my son build a character for a game I am DMing. He wanted a Dex fighter that uses 2 Wakizashis. I have house ruled (before he made this character) that Piranha Strike allows you to qualify for any feat that Power Attack does. So his basic schtick is to Piranha Strike/Cornugon Smash to get a free Intimidate check, Demoralize his opponent and qualify the rest of his attacks for sneak attack damage. Slashing Grace is allowing him to add Dex to damage as well.
So far with the heavy feat investment he only has the base feats required to get this working + Slashing Grace. So his schtick only just came online this level. He isn't sure where to go from there.
I have given him some suggestions. I suggested that 3 levels of Horizon Walker and the Dimensional Agility line of feats could be good. The two problems with this route is that he has an 8 Wis and doesn't have Endurance yet. If he chose this path I suggested taking another Ninja and Fighter level which would give him Weapon Training (he needs this as he is just starting to have trouble hitting against "sub-bosses" and BBEGs) and another Ninja Trick. I suggested Offensive Defense to up his already considerable AC especially as he doesn't have a lot of HP either due to a low Con. There is also a Cape of the Montebank in the party as well.
Another PrC I suggested was the Shadow Dancer. This is a fairly fitting class for him and if he goes with the suggestion of Dimensional Agility then I would allow Shadow Jump to work with that feat chain.
Other than that, I'm at a loss for suggestions. He fills the rogue role for the party but is more the sneak attacking slayer type than the trap springer. Due to a low Wis his Perception checks suffer though ie is good at disarming. Also, he is an Aasimar but took the Halo ability and lost the Darkvision. This is tough for scouting as he does not have a means of seeing in the concealment that is in. I actually gave a means of Darkvision out but the Paladin/Ranger snapped that up, so... meh.
The party makeup is:
Suli Ranger/Paladin - Sword and Board type with Dragon as a favored enemy. He wants to find a way to get a Griffon as an Animal Companion/mount.
Sylph Slayer - He is a "Merchant" but has an alter-ego he adventures as. Kind of a Batman type. Fights with a Katana.
Sylph Monk 2/Cleric 5 - Fills the support role. Strangely he fights with a crossbow. Isn't very effective in combat. I didn't want to impose on the player (he is new) and offer suggestions as my suggestions amount to something close to "your character is bad, rebuild him less bad" and that isn't very constructive.
Elven Ranger - Archer. Has an Allosaurus Animal Companion for a mount. Not sure if he plans on going for mounted archery but is definitely a full archer.
...and the Ninja 3/Fighter 4, of course. Yes, you are noting a distinct lack of arcane caster in the party. I had suggested to the Monk/Cleric that he may wish to go with something like a White Mage Arcanist instead. He didn't want to. With this lack of an arcane caster some things may start to become tough.
I could post a full build later on when I get home. I should also mention that we are using Weapons of Legacy from 3.x. We are heavily modifying it though as everyone believes that the benefits do not outweigh the negatives as published in that book. Instead, I think we are going with a single Negative Level upon completion of the Lesser Ritual but no other negatives.
The character that this post is concerning has went without a magic weapon at all up until now. In fact, he has been without even a masterwork weapon until now so he has struggled a bit. He just obtained his Legacy Weapon which I created myself. I can post the stats to that as well. It is called Grimthard's Fang and is crafted from the tooth of a Black Dragon. HE also completed his Least Ritual and has the beginning abilities. If I recall correctly, currently it is a +1 Cruel Corrosive Wakizashi. Cruel stacks nicely with Shaken and even better with Offensive Defense. He will be great in duels.
He did consider archetypes for Fighter including the Weaponmaster. He decided to not go with any because he wanted to take advantage of everything it offered. Honestly, with this being a Dragon heavy campaign he needed Bravery especially with his negative Wis modifier. And Armor Training allows him to eek out a bit more AC which he needs due to his middling hit points and being in the front lines frequently.
Hurtful is a good suggestion for a feat choice though. I will bring that up to him. Any suggestions for further advancement in classes/PrCs?
Scott: You are thinking of Dazzling Display (a prerequisite for Shatter Defenses). Shatter Defenses only works on the target you attack which is just as well for his uses.
Also, a character he plays in a different game is an Arcane Archer, so he probably wont be interested in doing the same thing with this character.
He is also pretty set on using Wakizashis as his primary weapons so he likely wont be interested in the Sap Adept suggestions.
I will mention the Flurry of Shurikens Trick though. He does use Shurikens on occasion. I will also offer the suggestion of Monk, but with his negative Wis modifier I am not certain that is a good plan.
How about Alchemist? A dex mutagen could help with accuracy, and there are plenty of self buffs and good discoveries.
Bard would also work well as inspire courage could help others as well. There are some good spells in the first few levels.
Inquisitor is another good possibility. Using Outflank by yourself and the bonus to hit judgement make up for the base attack loss here and inquisitors get intimidate bonuses.
Ranger for 3 levels leading to Horizon Walker could make the Dimensional Dervish thing work.
Diviner (Scryer) 1 then Eldritch Knight could give them some arcane power, just make sure to use one of the wakizashis as a bonded object or you won't be able to hold both swords and cast.
This mostly assumes an int or cha of 14 or so, if all mental stats are negative only the Horizon Walker will work out.
Violent Display is a great feat to pick next. Free action Dazzling Displays on flat footed targets.
I'm assuming he has high Dex and Stealth. He could take Skill Focus (Stealth) and Eldritch Heritage (Shadow)... Once he gets Improved Eldritch Heritage, he can pick the 9th level power of the Shadow Bloodline. Go read it. It is awesome.
Just for the record, I hope you know that wakizashi don't work with Slashing Grace, but I think it's fine to house rule they do.